You’ve decided to work at home. Welcome to an ever-growing group of people who want to combine the productivity of an office with the comfort of a home. While your intention of creating a home office will probably start off well, unexpected problems will quickly arise. Namely, everything will seem to be distracting you and it will be almost impossible to get any work done in a timely manner. How do you make your home office a productive one? Read on and find out.

Any room can be converted into a productive home office, as long as it satisfies the most basic requirements. It should ideally be a corner room, so it is protected from drafts, with a level floor to put your desk on. There should be no issues, such as dampness, with the room. Otherwise, you might risk your health and shorting the equipment. Also, the room should have enough electrical outlets for you to comfortably plug in all your devices and be able to recharge your smartphone and laptop at any given time.

Next up is the matter of comfort. While it may seem counterintuitive to dwell on the matter of which office chair to choose, you should spare no effort to make your home office as comfortable as possible. In fact, spending a lot of time sitting in a crooked or bumpy chair can cause you serious issues with your lower back, posture, or circulation further down the line. Same thing goes for the desk, mouse, keyboard, and any other piece of equipment you plan on using daily in your home office.

Your home office should be clear of all distractions to the greatest extent possible. While it is almost impossible to avoid clicking on a funny cat video here and there, you should strive to organize your time so you spend only a fraction of your available time on entertainment.The rest should be strictly focused on doing serious work. Also, it would be best if you went to bed before midnight, so you can rise early and do the most challenging work while you’re still fresh.

It is a good idea to have a notepad and a pen handy for when you need to write something really important down. While it is cool to have different bells and whistles on your devices reminding you, the surefire way to remember something is to write it down. Even better, use post-it notes and stick them onto your monitor.

Keep your spirits up by placing a nice plant or a painting in your home office. A good choice of plant life is a Croton with its meaty green leaves that turn red when exposed to sunlight. Though the Croton dislikes the cold weather, it will do fine during the winter as long as it isn’t exposed to cold drafts.

Try to keep your workstation as neat as possible. This will not only eliminate possible distractions that slow you down, but also give you a valuable feeling of professionalism and elegance while you’re working.